Chemical Plant Security (open access)

Chemical Plant Security

Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemicals (i.e., chemical facilities) might be of interest to terrorists, either as targets for direct attacks meant to release chemicals into the community or as a source of chemicals for use elsewhere. Because few terrorist attacks have been attempted against chemical facilities in the United States, the risk of death and injury in the near future is estimated to be low, relative to the likelihood of accidents at such facilities or attacks on other targets using conventional weapons. For any individual facility, the risk is very small, but risks may be increasing with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment. Available evidence indicates that many chemical facilities may lack adequate safeguards.
Date: February 14, 2005
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants (open access)

Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants

This report provides background information regarding the cases of two U.S. citizens deemed “enemy combatants,” Yaser Esam Hamdi, who has been returned to Saudi Arabia, and Jose Padilla, who remains in military custody. A brief introduction to the law of war pertinent to the detention of different categories of individuals is offered, followed by brief analyses of the main legal precedents invoked to support the President’s actions, as well as Ex parte Milligan, which some argue supports the opposite conclusion. The report concludes that historically, even during declared wars, additional statutory authority has been seen as necessary to validate the detention of citizens not members of any armed forces, casting in some doubt the argument that the power to detain persons arrested in a context other than actual hostilities is necessarily implied by an authorization to use force.
Date: February 24, 2005
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Freedom of Information Act Amendments: 109th Congress (open access)

Freedom of Information Act Amendments: 109th Congress

This report discusses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which was designed to enable any person — individual or corporate, regardless of citizenship — to request, without explanation or justification, presumptive access to existing, identifiable, unpublished, executive branch agency records on any topic.
Date: February 25, 2005
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homosexuals and U.S. Military Policy: Current Issues (open access)

Homosexuals and U.S. Military Policy: Current Issues

This report discusses policy towards homosexuals in the U.S. military service. In 1993, new laws and regulations pertaining to homosexuals and U.S. military service came into effect reflecting a compromise in policy. This compromise, colloquially referred to as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” holds that the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability. Service members are not to be asked about nor allowed to discuss their homosexuality. This compromise notwithstanding, the issue has remained politically contentious.
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Burrelli, David F. & Dale, Charles V.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Invoking Cloture in the Senate (open access)

Invoking Cloture in the Senate

This report discuses cloture, which is is the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to set an end to a debate without also rejecting the bill, amendment, conference report, motion, or other matter it has been debating. A Senator can make a nondebatable motion to table an amendment, and if a majority of the Senate votes for that motion, the effect is to reject the amendment. Thus, the motion to table cannot be used to conclude a debate when Senators still wish to speak and to enable the Senate to vote for the proposal it is considering. Only the cloture provisions of Rule XXII achieve this purpose.
Date: February 9, 2005
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison (open access)

House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison

This report compares selected House and Senate rules of procedure for various stages of the legislative process: referral of legislation to committees; scheduling and calling up measures; and floor consideration.
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Suspension of the Rules in the House of Representatives (open access)

Suspension of the Rules in the House of Representatives

None
Date: February 1, 2005
Creator: Carr, Thomas P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Terrorism in Southeast Asia (open access)

Terrorism in Southeast Asia

None
Date: February 7, 2005
Creator: Vaughn, Bruce; Chanlett-Avery, Emma; Cronin, Richard P.; Manyin, Mark E. & Niksch, Larry A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Polygraph Use by the Department of Energy: Issues for Congress (open access)

Polygraph Use by the Department of Energy: Issues for Congress

None
Date: February 3, 2005
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Middle East Peace Talks (open access)

The Middle East Peace Talks

None
Date: February 1, 2005
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status (open access)

Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status

None
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Squassoni, Sharon A.; Bowman, Steven R. & Behrens, Carl E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Threat Reduction Measures for India and Pakistan (open access)

Nuclear Threat Reduction Measures for India and Pakistan

None
Date: February 17, 2005
Creator: Squassoni, Sharon
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Terrorism: A Brief Review of Threats and Responses (open access)

Nuclear Terrorism: A Brief Review of Threats and Responses

None
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Military Operations in the Global War on Terrorism: Afghanistan, Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia (open access)

U.S. Military Operations in the Global War on Terrorism: Afghanistan, Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia

None
Date: February 4, 2005
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Global Peace Operations Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

The Global Peace Operations Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides The Background and Issues for Congress on Global Peace Operations Initiative where the Unites Sates have provided considerable support to implement several peace processes.
Date: February 16, 2005
Creator: Serafino, Nina M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security Research and Development Funding, Organization, and Oversight (open access)

Homeland Security Research and Development Funding, Organization, and Oversight

This report mainly discusses about Homeland Security Research and Development Funding, Organization, and Oversight where DHS is mandated to coordinate total federal agency homeland security R&D, which was requested at $4.0 billion. Policy issues include priority-setting within DHS and other agencies, performance monitoring.
Date: February 24, 2005
Creator: Knezo, Genevieve J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Establishment and Implementation of the United States Northern Command (open access)

Homeland Security: Establishment and Implementation of the United States Northern Command

This report addresses establishment and implementation of the United States Northern command related to Homeland Security.
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Shepherd, Scott & Bowman, Steven R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Cost of Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Enhanced Security (open access)

The Cost of Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Enhanced Security

This CRS report estimates that the Department of Defense (DOD) has received over $201 billion for combat operations, occupation, and support for military personnel deployed or supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for enhanced security at military installations, collectively called the “global war on terrorism.”
Date: February 9, 2005
Creator: Belasco, Amy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Current Funding Trends (open access)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Current Funding Trends

CRS Report for Congress entailing information about current funding trends within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Topics include, budget requests, federal funding and grants, funding trends, etc..
Date: February 11, 2005
Creator: Apling, Richard N.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative: An Overview (open access)

The Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative: An Overview

The Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) is a multilateral development and reform plan aimed at fostering economic and political liberalization in a wide geographic area of Arab and non-Arab Muslim countries. In December 2004, the first BMENA meeting took place in Rabat, Morocco and was called the “Forum for the Future.”At the forum, foreign ministers and finance ministers of the countries in the region stretching from Morocco to Pakistan as well as from the countries of the G8 pledged to create several new development programs and committed $60 million to a regional fund for business development. Critics of BMENA contend that the initiative focuses too heavily on economic issues instead of political reform and does little to strengthen non-governmental organizations and civil society groups in Arab and non- Arab Muslim countries.
Date: February 15, 2005
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations (open access)

Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations

On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, unleashed a tsunami that affected more than 12 countries throughout south and southeast Asia and stretched as far as the northeastern African coast. Current official estimates indicate that more than 160,000 people are dead and millions of others are affected, including those injured, missing, or displaced, making this the deadliest tsunami on record. News reports suggest that the death toll may be well above 200,000. Sections of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand have suffered the worst devastation. Eighteen Americans are confirmed dead, with another sixteen presumed dead, and 153 remain unaccounted for.
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Margesson, Rhoda
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Power Plants: Vulnerability to Terrorist Attack (open access)

Nuclear Power Plants: Vulnerability to Terrorist Attack

None
Date: February 4, 2005
Creator: Behrens, Carl E. & Holt, Mark
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East: Historical Background, Recent Trends, and the FY2006 Request (open access)

U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East: Historical Background, Recent Trends, and the FY2006 Request

None
Date: February 17, 2005
Creator: Sharp, Jeremy M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
China-U.S. Trade Issues (open access)

China-U.S. Trade Issues

The continued rise in the U.S.-China trade imbalance, complaints from several U.S. manufacturing firms over the competitive challenges posed by cheap Chinese imports, and concerns that U.S. manufacturing jobs are being lost to Chinese competitors have led several Members to call on the Bush Administration to take a more aggressive stance against certain Chinese trade policies deemed to be unfair. This report explores these issues in detail, especially concerning the lack of protection for U.S. IPR.
Date: February 14, 2005
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library